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Title 



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ADDRESS 



I»K1.1\ KKKD BKI-dKK i M K 



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<)!■■ THE 



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MM« liletami Sorifttf 



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1 XIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA, 



June 1st, 1865, 



BY 



h>X. ^^ M. II. BATTLE, I.L. J)., 



OF <M!APKL ini.L. 




R A 1. E ] (. II : 

\V M . IJ . s :m 1 T H c^ < ' o 

I K () «) . 



r 



ADDRESS 



DELIVERED BEFORE THE 



or 




OF THE 



UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA, 



June 1st, 1865.. 



1st, 1865. a 



BY 



■jl^^" .f^ 



H0]\\ WM. H. BATTLE, LL. D,, 



OF CHAPEL HILL. 



EALEIGH: 
WM. B. SMITH & CO 

1866. ' 



? 






O UNIVERSITY OF N. C, ) 

Ob Dialectic Hall, Oct. ^OtJi, 1865. y 

(^ "We, the imdersignecl, in behalf of the Dialectic Societ^^ would tender 

yoM our sincere thanks for the very excellent Address delivered before the 

two Literary Societies at our last annual commencement, and request a 

copy of the same for j)ublication. 

We Avould, indiTidually, enter our solicitations that yoii comply with. 

the above, since circumstances deterred many from hearing its delivery. 

Very respectfully, 

R. W. IVIEANS, ) 

P. B. MExVNS, [ Committee. 

E. L. MOPxEHEAD. ) 
Hon. W. H. Battlp:. 



CnKpEL Hill, Oct. QOtJi, 1865. 
My Dear Sirs: ' * . • 

I thank you for the kind terms in Avhich you notice the Address 
which I delivered before the tv\'0 Societies at the Inst annual commencc- 
.rnent of the University. 

The same motive which prompted nic to yield to the wishes of the 
'Society, under whose appointment the Address was made, now impels me 
to send a copy to l;e disposed of as the Society may think proper. 

Very truly yours. 

WILL: H. BATTLE. 

To Messrs. R. W. Means. ) 

P. B. Means, [- Committee. 

E. L. Morehead, ) 



ADDRESS, 



'l.'()rx(r Genttj::mex of the 

Dialectic A^'I) Piiilaxtiikopic Sotieties : 

1 appeiir belV>re you upon an occasion of extraordinary inter- 
i3st. A Avar, the parallel to wliicli does not appear upon tlic 
records of history, has just closed. Its results have been dis- 
astrous to our section of the country. Aniono: the yictiuis of 
its fury, there haye been noiie more conspicuous than the higher 
institutions of learnin£i\ One by one, the universities and col- 
leges of the South have been prostrated by the violence of the 
i^torm. All, sa^e our beloved Alma Hater ^ have been com- 
pelled to suspend tlieir exercises and to close their doors. Here 
iilone tlie college bell has not ceased to call students to the 
Oliapel for prayers, and to the Professors' rooms for recitation. 
It must be confessed, however, that our light has been almost 
> extinguished, and that oidy a spark of life still exists to send 
out a feeble ray. To this distinction of continued existence, 
our University i> indebted, under God, to the indomitable en- 
ergy of her Board of Trustee^, and to the devoted attachment 
of her President and Faculty. All honor to them for their 
noble perseverance in tlie cause of science and literature. 
Inter arnia silent leges. l)ut it seems that the love of learning" 
is stronger than the laws, for it has still flourished amidst \l\e 
din of arms. 

At such an era in the progress of our University, I have 
thought, my young friends, that I could not better occup}- 
vour attention for a few moments than by giving you a brief 
#;ketch of its origin and history, adding a few remarks upon 
;the influence which it has had iipon the country. 

It is the boast of our State that in its organic law, provisioit 



is made for the instruction of her youth in all useful learning-. 
By the 41st section of the Constitution it is declared : " That 
a school or schools shall he established hy the legislature for 
the convenient instruction of youth, with such salaries to the 
masters, paid by the public, as may enable them to instruct at 
low prices ; and all useful learning shall be duly encouraged 
and promoted in one or more universities."' The merit of 
those who adopted this wise provision cannot be duly apj^-o- 
ciated, without adverting for a moment to tlie time at, and 
the circumstances under, which it was made. The war of the 
devolution had but fairly commenced, and the Declaration of 
Independence had only a few months before l)eGn promulga- 
ted, wdien a convention of the people met at the town of Hali- 
fax for the purpose of preparing a constitution or form of gov- 
ernment for the State. The country was poor, the people 
jj^enerallv but sli^'htlv educated, and the wai^then rao-ino- AVfijri 
of doubtful issue, yet the members of the convention were re- 
solved that their posterity should enjin- tliose advantages of 
education which had been denied to the most of them. There 
can be no doubt that a large majority of those members had 
been instructed oidy in the plain rules of reading, writing and 
arithmetic, but destitute as they Avere of book learning, they 
had, in the business of social and political life, improved their 
mental faculties, and had thereby educated themselves to a 
due appreciation of the rights and privileges to which, as free- 
men, they were entitled. A few, and but a few of them, were 
men who had been nujre favored by fortune, and were well 
instructed in all the branches of a classical and scientiiic edu- 
cation. Prominent among these Mere Eichard Caswell^ 
Thomas Burke, John Ashe, Samuel Ashe, Abner ISTash, Da- 
vid Caldwell, Joseph Ilewes, Thjonuis Jones, Allen Joneft^ 
Willie Jones, Cornelius Harnett, Archibald McLane and 
Waightstiir|[Averv, Eichard Caswell Avas president of the 
convention, and Thomas Burke Avas chairman of the commit^^ 
tee on the constitution, Thev were both eminent lawvertA.. 



and it is to tlieni and their enlightened compeers that we are 
indebted for tliat section in the constitntion from which liave 
emanated onr Ilniversitv, our Colleo-es and onr noble svsteni 
of Common Schools. The constitntion was ratified the 18th 
day of December, 1776, and the war ceased by a definitive 
treaty of peace which secnred our independence in September, 
1788 ; but it Avas not until the year 1789 that the iinancial 
condition of tlio State justified the legislature in making the 
necessary expenditures for the foundation of a Fniversity. In 
tliat year the charter of this institution was granted, and 
among the patriotic and enlightened members wlio advocated 
it, no one stood nu)re conspicuous than Gen'l AViliiam R. 
Davie. Of liis efforts on that occasion, the late Judge Mur- 
phy, wlio delivered the first annual address before your So- 
cieties, tlius spoke in tliat address : '' The General Assembh^ 
resolved to fnnid our University. I Vxas present in tjie House 
of Commons, wlien Davie addressed that body upon the bill 
c^rantinc: a loan of monev to the Trustees for erectino- the 
buildings of this University, and althougli more than thirty 
years have since elapsed, I have the most vivid recollections 
of tlie greatness of his manner and the powers of his elocjuence 
upon that occasion." After the grant of the charter, the first 
o])ject which engaged the attention of tlie Trustees, was to 
fix upon a site for the institution. Tlie first Board consisted 
of forty members Avho resided in various parts of the State. 
and were all men distinguished for position and influence. 
The committee appointed l)y them for the purpose, after a 
careful examination of many places which had been suggested 
to them as suitable, selected Chapel Ilill. This place was so 
called from its being the site of one of the ante-revolutionary 
churches of the Eno-lish Establishment. Tlie church buildinij: 
is said to have stood on the lot now occupied by Capt. Kicli- 
ard S. Ashe. It may not be uninteresting to revert to the 
terms in which the location Avas spoken of in one of the pu])- 
lic journals of that dav : 



" The se^t of the University is on tlie summit of a very higli 
ridge. There is a gentle declivity of 300 yards to the village, 
which is situated in a handsome plain considerably lower than 
the site of the public buildings, but so greatly elevated above 
the neighboring country as to furnish an extensive landscape. 
The ridge appears to commence about half a mile directly east 
of the college buildings, where it rises abruptly several Inm- 
dred feet. This peak is called Point Prospect. The peak 
country spreads oif below, like "the ocean, giving an immense 
hemisphere, in which the eye seems to be lost in the extent of 



space. *' 



The building committee, having in the year 1793 secured a 
competent contractor in the person of Mr. James Patterson, 
of Chatham county, the 12th day of October in that year, was 
fixed upon for laying the corner stone of the first l)uilding. 
The following account of the ceremony subsecpientiy appear- 
ed in the iournal to which Ave have alreadv referred : ''A lar2:e 
number of the brethren of the Masonic order from Hillsbo- 
rough, Chatham, Granville and Warren attended to assist at 
the ceremony of placing the corner stone ; and the procession 
for this purpose moved from Mr. Patterson's at 12 o'clock in 
the following order: The Masonic brethren in their usual or- 
der of procession, the Connnissioners, the Trustees not Com- 
missioners, the lion. Judge McKay and other public ofiicers, 
tlien followed the gentlemen of the vicinity. On approaching 
the south end of the building the Masons opened to the right 
and left, and the Commissioners, etc., passed throngh and took 
their place. The Masonic procession then moved on, round 
the Ibundation of the build'ug, and halted with their usnal 
ceremonies opposite the south-east corner, where William 
Pichardson Davie, Grand Master cf the Fraternity, &c., in 
this State, assisted by two Masters of Lodges and four otlier 
officers, laid the corner stone, encloshig a plate to commemor- 
ate the transaction." 

The Pev. Pr. McCorkle, a member of the Board of Trus. 



tces^tlien made iin aj)pn)2>ricite and el()(|ueiit address to his 
f<,dl»)W uiemheis and the spectators, which closed as follows : 
^' The seat of the ruiversitv was next sought for, and the pub- 
lic eve selected Chapel Hill, a lovely situation, in the centre 
of the State, at a convenient distance from the capital, in a 
healthy and fertile neighborhood. May this hill be tor reli- 
o'ion as the ancient hill of Zion ; and for literature and the 
muses mav it surpass the ancient Parnassus I AVe this day 
enjov the pleasure oT seeing the corner stone of the University, 
its foundations, its niaterijd, and the architects of the buildings, 
and we hope ere long to see its stately Avails and spire ascend- 
ino' to their summit. Ere hnig we hope to see it adorned with 
an eleirant village, acc(uiimodated Avith all the necessaries and 
conveniences of civilized society." This address Avas followed 
l.)V a short ])rayer, which closed Avith the united Amen of an 
immense eoiieour>e of peo[)le. 

The building, since called the East, having been sutiiciently 
j»repared. Mr. Ilinton James, of AVilmington, the iirst student, 
arrived on the lliil the 12'rli day of Eebruary, 1795. and the 
e\erci>e> of the institution Avere soon after commenced. The 
iirst instructor ^^jis the licv. David Kerr, a graduate of Tj'ini- 
tv Colleii-e. Dublin. Avho was Professor of .Vncient Lauii'uae'es, 
and he Avas assisted by Samuel Allen llt^lmes in the prepara- 
tory department. Sliortly afterwards Charles W. Harris, a 
nati\e of Iredell county in this State, and a graduate of Prince- 
ton College in Xew Jersey. Avas appointed Professor of Mathe- 
matics, but he held tlie otrice only one year, when he was suc- 
ceeded by the Re\'. Joseph Caldwell, Avho was also a graduate 
of Princeton, ami a native of Xew Jersey. The iirst com- 
mencement, at whicli the degree of Bachelor of Arts Avas con- 
ferred, war- held in the year 17US, Avhen seven young gentle- 
men, am.ong whom, was Mr. Ilinton James, receix'ed that de- 
gree. 

For several years after the erection of the iirst building, the 
acconnnodations for the students, both in the collegiate and the 



10 

preparatory department, remained nearly tlie same. The old 
Chapel and the East were the only edifices, and the latter wa^ 
then only two stories high, and contained but sixteen rooms. 
The old chapel was the Aula JPersonica in which the degrees 
Avere for manv years conferred. 

The South building was commenced, carried up a story and 
a half, and then left for a long time in an imiinished state. AYe. 
are told by Dr. Hooper in his admirable address before Alumni 
of this institution, entitled "Fifty Years Since," that the stu- 
dents who could not well prepare their lessons in the crowded 
dormitories of the East, were in the habit of erecting cabins> 
in the corners of the unfinished brick walls of the South, where 
they could pursue their studies to better advantage. But Dr, 
Caldwell, who was then President, could not long endure this- 
state of things ; and by his active exertions, the sum of twelve 
thousand dollars was raised by subscription, which enabled 
the Trustees to have the South building completed. This was 
done in 1812 ; and about the year 1821, the West building 
was erected and an additional story was put upo^i the East. 
Shortly afterwards the new chapel was built ; and in 1848 ex- 
tensions were added to the East and West buildings, which 
was done mainly for the accommodation of the two Literary 
Societies, whose rooms in the third story of the South had bo- 
come too small for the increased number of members. The 
buildings since erected liave l)een the University library, and 
the wino's to the East and AYest. The two last were finished 
and prepared for occupation only a short time before the com- 
mencement of the war. The beautiful and commodious So- 
ciety Halls contained in them have been the admiration of all 
beholders. 

At the connnencenient of the institution, and for several 
years afterwards, the ranoje of studies was very contracted. 
Greek was not introduced into the course imtil 1804-, and in 
the year 1807, we learn that Morse's Geography was one of 
the principal studies of the Sophomore class. Tlu^ higher 



11 

mathematics were not introduced until the llcv. Elisha Mitch- 
ell came here as professor of that science in 1811). Tlie same 
vear witnessed tlie advent of Denison Ohiisted as the first Pro- 
fessor of Chemistry ; and in the year following:, the llev. Shep- 
herd K. Kollock, was in like manner the first Professor of 
Hhetoric and Logic. After that time the number and variety 
of studies were greatly increased, and it is ])elie\'ed tliat tlie 
present college curricnlnni is on as higli a scale as any in tlie 
United States. 

The University has, in the main, been fortunate in its gov- 
ernors and instructors. During the lirst nine years of its ex- 
istence, it had no president, but was. under the management 
of a professor as presiding officer; that officer, however, was, 
for the greater part of the time, the same distinguished s^en_ 
tleman who afterwards became its first president. Of his enii- 
iieut merits in that respect it is unnecessary tor me to speak 
at this time and in this place. The beaut ifulmonument erect- 
ed to his memory by the Alumni of this institution, and which 
now graces and adorns the college campus, fully attests his 
claim to distinction, not only as the head of the University, 
but as a learned divine, and an earlv and efficient advocate of 
a system of internal improvements and of common sclioi/is in 
tlie State. Ilis presidency extended from his first appoiut- 
iiient in 180i, until his death in 1835, Avitli the exception of 
an interval of four years, from 1812 to 1810, during vxliicli 
the unsuccessful administration of Dr. Ilobert 11. Cliapmaii 
occurred. Of the present incumbent, I shall say notliing. ex- 
cept that he has filled the office with distinguisiicH] success for 
Bearly thirty years. In administering the affiiirs of college, 
and in business of instruction, the presidents were aided by a 
succession of many learned and able professors. ( )f those 
who are now members of the faculty, it will not be expected 
of me to speak ; and of those who have gone from us and are 
still living, I will merely refer you to Dr. William Hooper 
and flolm DeBerniere Hooper, to Bishop Green, of Mississip- 



12 

pi, to Professor Hedrick, and to Drs. Deems, Wlieat and Sliipp. 
Among the dead there are several names which the friends of 
the UniA^ersitv ought not to permit to be forgotten. There 
was Charles W. Hari'is, to whose brief sojourn here we were 
indebted for Dr. Caldwell ; there was Archibald D. Murpliy, 
who afterwards became one of the most distinguished jurists 
and statesmen of Xorth Carolina ; the Kev. William Bingham, 
of wliom Chief Justice Taylor said, that as a teacher of a 
school he was well qualified to raise its reputation, "by the 
extent ot his acquirements, the purity of his life, and tlie judg- 
ment by which he accommodated the discipline and instruc- 
tions of the school to the various talents and dispositions of 
tlie youth."' There was Dr. Ethan A, Andrews, so well known 
for his classical labors ; and Dr. Olmsted, who, as Professor 
of Xatural Philosophy at Yale College, so greatly increased 
the reputation which he had established as Professor of Chem- 
istry here ; there was Nicholas M. lientz, a learned man, but 
not so widely known as his accomplished wife, Mrs. Caroline 
Lee rientz; there was Walker Anderson, who afterwards re- 
moved to Florida and became Chief Justice of the Supreme 
Court of that State ; and finally there vras Dr. Elisha Mitchell, 
whose varied, extensive and profound literary and scientific 
acrpiirements were lost to the world a few years ago by ti tra- 
gical event which sent a pang of soitow to every votary of 
science throughout the land. 

In referring to the instructors ot the institution, the tutors 
should not bypassed over without a notice. Among the liv- 
ing and the dead, they have very able and distinguished rep- 
resentatives. Among the living are ex-Governor Morehead, 
Hamilton C. Jones, Anderson Mitchell, Giles Mebane, Judge? 
Manly, ex-Secretary Jacob Thompson, and others whose names 
may yet swell the trump of fame. Among the dead, I Avould 
point you to James .Martin, afterwards a Judge of the Su- 
perior Court ; to Gavin Hogg, long one of the ablest lawyers 
of the State ; to Lewis Williams, who was a member of the 



m 

House of Representatives so long that be acquired tlic name 
of the father of the House ; to William D. Mosely, for many 
jears Speaker of the Senate in this State, and afterwards Gov- 
ernor of Plorida ; to James H. Otey, the able and learned 
Bishop of Tennessee ; to the Kev. Joseph H. Saunders, whose 
early death cut short a bright career of usefulness in his 
(5hnrch ; to Edward D. Simms, whose growing reputation as a 
professor in the University of Alabama was closed by death 
before he had attained the meridian of his years ; and to Abra- 
ham F. Morehead, the youngest member of a distinguished 
family, who would doubtless have greatly increased the fame 
^f that family, had he not died in the earliest dawn of man- 
Jiood. I name with peculiar sadness George P. Bryan, George 
B. Johnston, Iowa Koyster and E. Graham Morrow, who have 
g© recently been consigned to soldiers' graves. 

Erom this hasty and imperfect sketch of the origin and his- 
toiy of the University, it appears clearly and strongly that 
the founders of our republic and their successors, have always 
had a deep sense of the importance of a collegiate education. 
The enquii'y is naturally presented how far their hopes have 
been realised from this institution ; in otlier words, wdth what 
measure of success has it been attended in promoting and ad- 
vancing the weal of the State ? A practical solution of this 
enquiry may perhaps be obtained by ascertaining, if we can, 
what influence the men who received their education here 
have had in the management and direction of the aftairs of 
the General and State governments. It is unnecessary on this 
oeeasion, to go into minute details on this subject, but we can 
gay in general, and say with certainty, that there is scarcely 
an office or place of profit or trust, or any position in the bu- 
siness of life, professional or non-professional, ecclesiastical or 
lay, militarj' or civil, which has not been filled, time and again, 
by some one who has received his education, in whole or in 
part, at this University. To the General government it has 
&rnished one President, at least five members of the cabinet 



14 

and four iiiinit^ters to ibreigii coiiils^ while of the number whicli 
it lias sent to the Senate and House of Kepreseiitatives it is 
difficult to make a reckoning. In the State government there 
is hardly any office, which has not been filled by those who 
liave gone forth fnnn these halls. It has its representatives in 
the liighest places of the church, among the leaders at the bar, 
and in the clianibers where suffering humanity most needs the 
aid of educated science and skill. It has supplied banks and 
railroads with presidents, clerks and superintendents. It sends 
its Alumni to explore mines and to construct railroads ; and 
above all, and best of all, it furnishes to aojriculture and com. 
merce some of their most enlightened, energetic and skillful 
votaries.. - 

. Tlie exciting times through which we have just passed and 
are now passing, .have prevented me from bringing more par- 
ticularly to yoni- attention the men whom our University has 
sent'fetli to act their parts in the world. It is only by the offices 
which they have tilled,! or the places which they have- occupied, 
tliatl have recalled -them to your recollection. Many of them. 
liave.])aid' the great debt of nature, and gone to render to their 
Maker an account of their stewardship. Others are still liv- 
ing to perfurni, it may be, higher duties to their country, and 
to obtain greater rewards for themselves: -Of all these, dead 
or living, I liave nothing further to say. -But with" your in- . 
dulgeince, I will 6ccupy a few more moments of your time in 
recalling from tlio dim recollections of the past thte ilalnes of 
a few men,, each of whom was regarded as the college genius 
of the day.jand who, with well directed energies and a longer 
life, might have left a name which the world would not will- 
ingly have let die. 

William Clierry was a native of Bertie county, and was 
graduated herein the year 1800. While in college he was 
not a. very diligent student, but his aptitude for learning was 
so marvellous that, it. was said, he could prepare his lesson af- 
ter the. recitation bell had commenced ringing. Having se- 



15 

lected the law as liis profession, lie had ah-eadj attained an 
extensiv^e practice and a high rank at the bar, wlien his career 
was cut short hy death, caused by intemperance, at the early 
age of twenty -seven. Those who were engaged in practice 
with him could not but wonder at the admirable manner in 
which he managed his causes, knowing as they did that the 
time which he ought to,ha\'e spent in the preparation of them, 
Avas passed at the card table and around the intoxicating bowl. 
A story is still remembered, that on one occasion, in the for- 
getfulness caused by a deep debauch, he opened an important 
■cause by making a very able argument on the wrong side; 
but being made aware of his mistake just as he was about to 
close, he, immediately, with admirable presence of mind, com- 
menced a reply lor his own client, by saying tiiat the argu- 
ment which he had just made was what lie supposed vvould 
be urged by his opponent, and that he would proceed to an- 
swer it, and expose its fallacy. Tradition, howevei*, reports 
that his first argument was so masterly that he could not an- 
swer it successfidly, and thns lost his cause. 

About fifteen years after Mr. Cherry left the Viii\ersity a 
young man from the county of Xash ,was, with many others, 
suspended from college in consequence of what was long known 
as the great rebellion of 1810, which resulted in the expukion 
of the leaders, Messi-s. George C. Drumgold and William B. 
Shepard, and the resignation of the President, Dr. Chapman. 
The expelled members both afterwards became distinsruished 
men, l>ut talented as they undoubtedly were, they were de 
cidedly inferior in genius to their classmate and friend, Thom- 
as X. Mann. He became alawyer, and at the time when he 
fell /I victim to consumption, while under thirty years of age, 
he was one of the best read and most profound lawyers in the 
State. Though so young, he was appointed by the then Presi- 
dent of the .United States as Charge d' Affaires to Central 
America, and died while on his way to the court of that 
country. 



In the year 1824, Thomas Dewo», a vomii!: man from the 
c'omit\^ of Lincoln, took liis degree ot* Bacheh.)r of Arts, divid- 
ing: with Prof. Simms, Jndiice Manlv and ex-Governor Graham 
the higliest lionor of the class. His parents were poor, and it 
is said resorted to the humble occupation of selling cakes for 
the purpose of procuring means for the education ot their 
promising boy. After his graduation, he studied law and 
commenced tlie prj*ctice with eveiT prospect of eminent suc- 
cess, when, unhappily, a morbid sensitiveness of temperament, 
drove him to habits of intemperance, during one of the tits of 
which he came to an untimely end. His name which oHo:ht 
to have gone down to posterity on a(!Count of great deeds 
ax^hieved by extraordinary talents, will probably be remem- 
bered only in connection with a happily turned impromptu 
epitaph. When ex-Governor Swain was at the bar, he was, 
on a certain occasion, at the same conrt with Messrs. blames 
II. Dodge, llillman and Dews. Mr. Swain had seen some- 
where a punning epitaph on a man named Dodge, which ended 
with the cou})let that 

'■' After dodging all he coukL 
lie couldn't dodge the devil/' 

This he wrote on apiece of paper and handed it to the 
other members of the bar, whose merriment it very much ex- 
cited. AfVer a while it reached the hands of Mr. Dodgre him- 
self, who, seeing from whom it came and supposing that Hill- 
man and Dews were part mpes crtmmis, immediately Avrote on 
the back the following : 

''' Here lie a Hillmau and a Swain, 

Their lot let no man choose. 
They lived in sin and died in pain, 

And the devil has his De^\li.^■ 

Those who are familiar with the playful and happy tunrof 
thought and expression which distinguish the lighter writings 
of Washington Irving will not be surprised to learn that Mr. 
Doc|ge is his nephew. 



17 

Tlie next and last college gen'ins to whom I sliall call your 
attention was the late General James Johnston Pettigrew. 
Born in the county of Tyrrell, he was prepared for college at 
the celebrated school of William J. Bingham, a son of the 
Kev. William Bingham already mentioned, and entered the 
Freshman Class here in the year 1843, His whole college 
conrse was a continued series of literary triumphs. In a class 
containing many members of more than ordinary talents he 
was among the best, if not the very best, in all his studies;, 
but mathematics was his speciality. In that he was far ahead 
of all his classmates. I well remember being present at the 
examination of the class on Astronomy, when the learned 
Professor, after having worried several members by putting 
questions which tliey could not answer, called up Mr. Petti- 
grew. As he did so one of the class, in a whisper loud enough 
to be lieard half across the room, said, " You can't stick him,'' 
and sure enough he couldn't. After taking the Bachelor's 
degree, and after a short term of service in the IS^aval Obser- 
vatory in Washington City, he selected the law as his j^rofes- 
sion, and went to Europe to perfect himself in that depart- 
ment of it called the civil law\ On his return he settled in 
Charleston and became connected in practice with his distin- 
guished relative, the late Hon. James L. Petigru, who was 
perhaps the ablest and most profound lawyer in South Caro- 
lina. During his brief residence there he became one of the 
representatives of the city in the Legislature of the State. 
While a member of that body he greatly distinguished him- 
self by sending in from a committee a minority report against 
a scheme then proposed for taking steps towards the reopen- 
ing of the slave trade. He himself constituted the minority, 
and his report was so profound in its views, and so convincing 
in its arguments, that the proposed measure failed to secure 
the sanction of the Legislature, though strongly urged in a 
report agreed upon by all the other members of the com- 
mittee. 

2 



18 

i 

When the war broke out between the ]^orth and the South 
he espoused the cause of his section of the country. After 
some service at Charleston he came to this State, was elected 
Colonel of one of its regiments and was afterwards promoted 
to the rank of Major General. Of his merits as a soldier 
and an officer it is unnecessary for me now to speak. His un- 
timely death, in a slight skirmish near the banks of the Po- 
tomac during General Lee's retreat from Pennsylvania, caused 
his friends and his country to deplore an event which extin- 
guished the light of his genius long ere it had attained its me- 
ridian splendor. 

My young friends, my task is done and no one can feel 
more sensibly than myself how imperfectly it has been accom- 
plished. 1^0 one can know more fully than myself how dif- 
ficult it has been to withdraw my thoughts from the unhappy 
condition of our country and apply them to the work of at- 
tempting to prepare an oiFering worthy of your acceptance. 

In the commencement of my address I had occasion to re- 
fer to the low condition to wdiich the war had suddenly re- 
duced our beloved University. Its declension was as great as 
it was sudden. Before the war it had attained, in a very few 
years, a height of prosperity of which scarcely a partillel can 
be found in any country. In the extent and variety of its 
studies, the number and ability of its instructors and the num- 
ber of its students, it surpassed nearly all similar institntions 
in our own section of the country, and was beginning to rival 
the old, time-honored establishments of Yale and Harvard. 
In the year 1858 its catalogue show^ed a larger number of un- 
der-graduates than that of any other college in the United 
States, except Yale. Allthis success was accomplished in a 
very short time. A glance at the rapidly increasing ratio of 
its graduates will illustrate the truth of my remark. For the 
first ten years after the date in which degrees were conferred 
by the University, the number of students who received the 
Baccalaureate was 53 ; for the second decade it was 110 ; for 



19 

tlie third 259 ; for the fourth 146 ; for the fifth 308 ; for the 
sixth 448 ; and for the seventh the annual number was going 
on at a rate which would have produced 882, nearly the double 
of that which immediately preceded it. 

Another striking manifestation of the growing fame and 
the wide-spreading influence of the University was afforded 
by the honor of having had among the visitors at each of the 
commencements of 184T and 1859 the then President of the 
United States and a part of 'his cabinet. On the first of these 
occasions one of her own sons came to greet his fair mother, 
and on the second a stranger from a distant State came to do 
her honor. But the scene is now changed. The war has ar- 
rested our Alma 3fater in her proud career of success, and she 
ss now reduced to a low, very low, condition ; but as peace 
has once more dawned upon the country, let us cherish the 
fond hoj)e that she vv'ill soon emerge, with fresh strength and 
renovated energies, from the deep valley of humiliation, and 
again take her seat upon the high hill of prosperity, whence 
she may spread abroad all over the land the blessings of edu- 
cation and religion, with their attendant benefits of civilization 
and refinement. 



